News distribution is one of the many features that arise from the use of social networking sites. For example, a person may post a social communication to his/her social network in a social networking site, where the social communication references and comments on some news article or content from a news organization. Upon receiving the social communication, one or more of the receiving members of the social network may comment on or repost the original social communication, and these comments/reposts are delivered or made available to members of their respective social networks. In this manner, news distribution through social networking sites is said to “go viral”, meaning a widespread, growing distribution of news content through social networking sites often occurring within a short amount of time. News content that is “going viral,” i.e., in the process of the widespread, growing distribution of the news content, is referred to as trending news content.
Due, at least in part, to the importance of delivering timely to people, there have been attempts to identify trending news content from social communications of various social networking sites. However, timely identifying news content among the vast amount social communications that are posted, as well generating informative summary topics, has proven to be a difficult challenge.